Which is the extravegence a gun or a shopping cart full of toilet paper?

Last night watching the news I was struck by something odd. I couldn’t help but feel scared for all the millions of people now affected by America shutting down but realized a lot of those businesses closing; restaurants, bars and theaters are someplace my wife and I rarely frequent. Don’t get me wrong, we don’t live under a rock and live a fairly normal life and are probably considered pretty social, the difference is when we get home at night, we stay in. This is partly to be available for her mom but just as much because we are homebodies. The reason the news struck me odd tonight is we have joked about the economy grinding to a halt if more people were like us and now I guess we will see the truth in that statement.

The news and social media abound with pictures and stories of people hoarding toilet paper and hand sanitizer and the extreme opposite, lines going into gun shops; many setting store records for gun sales. Watching this made me reflect on the earlier conversation I had with my mom, explaining that we should refrain from extravagant purchases which made me ponder; which is more extreme, buying a shopping cart full of toilet paper or standing in line to buy bullets because of a pandemic? I guess the answer depends on who you ask.

As we settle into our new normal, I look for any sign of light at the end of this potentially long tunnel and found it on a webinar. UBS, the global investment company broadcast a webinar where they interviewed financial colleagues around the world for insight into the current state of affairs for investment. The response was measured and generally positive; and without going into great detail it offered opinion where we were, where we are today and possible future opportunities providing insight for their clients. At the end I still knew we had a long road ahead but felt a little more optimistic regarding the future.

I finished that stream of conscienceness with the goal of finishing it up tomorrow and hitting the “Publish” button… The thing I hadn’t expected the next morning at 7:09 am was an earthquake.

I have lived most of my life in Salt Lake City. One constant in that lifetime is the probability of an earthquake. Children are educated and structures retrofitted to withstand a pretty serious seismic shake. Every time there is a global earthquake event our media is quick to point out the likelihood of “the big one” hitting sometime in the next fifty years. Today was not the “big one” but it was 5.7 and pretty damn scary, especially when you occupy a condo on the eighth floor. By the time the biggest aftershock of 4.6 hit six hours later we were all pretty rattled. Many of my neighbors ran outside to assess any damage but were all reminded to keep our “social distance.” There were no injuries as I write this and damage was limited. We lost some pieces but nothing of emotional consequence. Between the virus and now an earthquake, we are all a bit on edge and wonder what is next.

This brings me back to the original reason I started this blog; to chronicle my journey through 65 and the personal challenges I face. I am surprised it took so long to realize life is so much more than getting older and what I perceived as a challenge going forward is simply living life. Sometimes it takes something bigger happening to bring you back to reality. Welcome back.